The Hebrew Institute opened its doors in 1916 and served as a Jewish educational institution until 1992. The materials in the collection consist primarily of administrative and budget records. The records also contain planning documents for the Hebrew Institute and other Jewish facilities as well as general reports on Jewish education.

Call number: MSS 512Language: The materials in this collection are in English. Repository: Rauh Jewish ArchivesSenator John Heinz History Center

1212 Smallman StreetPittsburgh, PA 15222

Access and Use

Arrangement

Arrangement

The Records of the Hebrew Institute are housed in two archival boxes. The collection is arranged by folder in alphabetical order and placed in chronological order within each folder.

Biography

History

The Hebrew Institute was founded in response to the lack of organization and supervision of Jewish education in the Pittsburgh area. The purpose of the Hebrew Institute was to make Jewish education a factor in youths' lives by teaching the Hebrew language and literature and by fostering knowledge of Jewish history and ethics. It was the vision of Rabbi A. M. Ashinsky to establish a modern "Talmud Torah." He first presented this idea at a community committee meeting at the Washington Bank Building on September 3, 1911. Ten days later, a second meeting was held at his residence. During this meeting, a vote was taken to name the Jewish educational institution the Hebrew Institute.

After gaining support and financial assistance from the community, on November 7, 1916, the Hebrew Institute of Pittsburgh opened its doors in a new building on Wylie Avenue and Green Street in the Hill District, where Pittsburgh's Jewish immigrant population was centered at the time. The Hebrew Institute offered a kindergarten, elementary school, a student synagogue, library, printing department, sewing classes for girls and also offered evening classes. In addition to classrooms, the building housed a game room and playground. The Hebrew Institute quickly became a center for Jewish community activities.

In the next few years after opening, the Hebrew Institute responded to the gradual demographic shift of Pittsburgh's Jewish population to the East End. In order to accomodate the needs of the growing Jewish community in Squirrel Hill, in 1919, the Hebrew Institute began to use two rooms in the Colfax School for classes. In 1921, the school began to provide transportation for the 795 students enrolled. The teachers from the Hebrew Institute also taught classes that became part of Beth Shalom's Hebrew School. The Hebrew Institute also assisted in organizing affiliate schools such as B'nai Israel Hebrew Institute and the Tree of Life Hebrew School.

In 1923, the Hebrew Institute added the Sol Rosenbloom Teachers' Training School and a high school, later to be known as the Louis I. Aaron Hebrew High School, to its program. The Hebrew Institute became a member of the United Jewish Fund of Pittsburgh in 1937. In December 1943, the original building was sold and the Hebrew Institute relocated to a new building in May 1944 on Forbes and Denniston in Squirrel Hill.

By 1954, the Hebrew Institute was conducting the largest kindergarten and summer camp of its kind in the country. The elementary school was also one of the country's largest. The entire program for the Hebrew Institute was used as a model for similiar educational institutions.

In 1991 the Hebrew Institute, Community Day School, and the School of Advanced Jewish Studies merges to form the Jewish Educational Institute of Greater Pittsburgh.

Collection Scope and Content Note

The Records of the Hebrew Institute are housed in two archival boxes. The collection is arranged by folder in alphabetical order and placed in chronological order within each folder. The bulk of the papers include administrative, budget, and financial information dating from 1963 through 1992, with meeting minutes from 1978 and 1988. The records also contain planning documents for Pittsburgh communal Jewish education, the Hebrew Institute, and Community Day School. The collection includes a self-study of the Hebrew Institute of Pittsburgh, written by Dr. Samuel H. Dinsky, and an early history of the Hebrew Institute authored by Norman Cohen.